Monday, July 29, 2013

Delighting in God

Sometimes when I am praying, songs bubble up from my
heart. It seems that this also is part of what it means to…

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm
37:4)

Stephen Charnock says that delight in God will also
mean a delight in the things that I ask for. When God is my chief joy, then the
things of God are delightful too. Some might get excited about praying for worldly
goods or temporary things, yet there is a greater delight in asking for the light
of God’s face and for things in the spiritual realm.

I cannot feel dull of heart when I am praying for heavenly
mercies and eternal well-being. Just as sunshine and blue sky never become
tiresome (at least in my part of the world), neither do I get tired of spiritual
blessings. Even though God blesses me countless times, I cannot get enough and
long for more. I will repeat some requests for many years, experiencing joy in
the asking just as I anticipate joy in the answering. As Charnock says, I can
delight in those desires that God has set in my heart and put in my prayers.

Another delight is being overjoyed when I tell God the
desires of my heart. I can go through a prayer list and become tired of the
routine and repetition, but when I speak from the heart, my emotions are
lifted, sometimes so much that I start singing. Charnock says, “The soul
desires not only to speak to God, but to make melody to God; the heart is the
instrument, but grace is the strings, and prayer is touching them, and
therefore the soul is more displeased with the flagging of grace than with
missing an answer.”

He is right. I can delight in God’s gifts to me and to
others. I can delight in my devotion to Him, but exercising the spiritual life He
gives in communion with Him is a more lasting delight. When I return from
prayer to my other responsibilities, His delight lingers with me. It gives me peace,
strength for the day and keeps my heart focused on spiritual matters and on the
Lord.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Delighting in God is an expression of trust. I cannot
enjoy Him when filled with doubt or frustration at His decisions in my life. I
can enjoy Him when my heart is convinced by His Word that He is good and that
He loves me and wants the very best for me.

No comments:

Blog Description

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)